Biomechanical analysis on diferente fixation techniques for treatment of mandibular body fractures

ABSTRACT

Aim: To biomechanically analyze two fixation techniques in polyurethane hemi-mandibular bodyfractures, using a universal testing machine. Methods: The study employed 10 polyurethanehemi-mandible replicas, which simulated simple fractures of the mandibular body, divided into twogroups one group comprised 5 hemi-mandibles with two 2.0 mm system plates in the tension andcompression zones, while the other group contained 5 hemi-mandibles with an Erich bar and a2.0 mm system plate in the tension and neutral zones, respectively. Data were analyzed statisticallyby the Student’s t-test (α=0.05) Results: The test results indicated that the fixation using 2.0 mmsystem plates offered significantly more resistance to the loads and presented significantly largerdisplacement compared to the fixation using just one 2.0 mm system plate and the Erich bar.Conclusions: It may be concluded that the use of two plates in the 2.0 mm system had greatermechanical strength than a single 2.0 mm plate combined with an Erich bar. Clinically, it is knownthat both techniques can provide good results, but patients receiving the combination of Erich barand one plate are required to be more cooperative during the postoperative period, especiallywith respect to the prescribed diet in order to avoid failures in this system.